Twelve-year-old Koichi wants to be a samurai like his father but when their clan is defeated in battle, they move to America in 1869 to become farmers. Based on the real-life Wakamatsu colony, founded by exiles from Japan, near Sacramento, California.

Make the past come alive for your students by introducing them to a wide array of fascinating historical novels.

Okina Kyūin boarded the steamship Kaga Maru at the port of Yokohama in 1907, bound for America. For this ambitious young man, Japanese-American newspapers were an invaluable medium for communicating his opinions on important social issues and documenting everyday life in his community. His vivid articles and stories established him as an essential voice among Japanese immigrants. This book examines Okina's life on the American West Coast in the context of U.S.-Japanese diplomatic relations between 1868 and 1924.

Originally published: Great Britain: Faber & Faber, 2016.

Fifteen units focus on authors who speak about their ethnic heritage through their books and those who write or illustrate multicultural materials. Each unit includes a full-size photograph and a brief biography containing bits of background information that will fascinate students. Activities that reinforce the multicultural theme and bibliographies of related books and films are also featured. Ideal for the media center and the integrated curriculum. Grades 1-6.

A young Japanese nanny and an American boy find common ground during a drought in California in the 1870s.